Friday, September 17, 2004

by Lauren Janowitz
Gazette Reporter

Students may have noticed for the past few weeks that documents they
were printing in McCabe, Cornell, and Beardsley came out single-sided
instead of double-sided, as is the norm.  There had been a flaw in
the system that had stopped the duplex printing as the default option;
this has since been fixed, says ITS’ Robin Jacobsen.

However, the issue of double-sided printing was just one of many
brought up at a recent meeting between ITS, the Library staff, and
Student Council over paper waste in McCabe. According to Student Events
Advisor Myra Vallianos ’05, the librarians are planning on implementing
a number of changes to reduce waste and encourage recycling.

First, there will be new bins to hold unclaimed printouts. Rather than
just one generic bin, though, printouts will be sorted by content among
categories such as PDFs and student papers. The McCabe staff is also
looking into tagging PDFs by class, in order to expedite identification.

Also, the staff will be adding signs around the library, reminding
students to pick up their documents directly after sending them, and
with instructions on what to do if a document doesn’t print. A section
dealing with public computing will be added to the portal page in order
to receive student suggestions and concerns.

The biggest step, which is still only under consideration, is an print
authentication system. After sending a document to the printer,
students would then have to go to the printers and select their print
job in order for it to print. If the job is never selected, it will
never print and will be lost. While it might be a bit inconvenient for
students, it would dramatically cut down on duplicate copies. This
system is still being looked into, but it seems like a likely step for
the future.

*****

by Micaela Baranello
Gazette Film Critic

The entertaining new film “Bright Young Things” takes place in 1930s
London, where life in high society is one big party, where the witty,
the not-so-witty and the hopelessly drunk try extremely hard to have a
good time.  Of course, the inevitable hangover eventually comes,
adding a serious note to a gleefully superficial world.

The central figure is Adam Symes (Stephen Campbell Moore), a writer who
only needs a respectable amount of money to marry his beloved Nina
(Emily Mortimer). Unfortunately her father (Peter O’Toole) is less than
helpful, and his manuscript is confiscated by a customs official as
smut.  This leaves him beholden to his editor (Dan Aykroyd), who
runs a newspaper by the name of the Daily Excess.  The Excess is
the mouthpiece of Mr. Chatterbox, a notorious gossip columnist,
chronicling the debaucheries of the circle known as the Bright Young
Things.  Adam’s eventual employment as Mr. Chatterbox and
constantly changing fortunes provide most of the plot.

Other characters include the hilarious Fenella Woolger as Agatha, the
group’s most enthusiastic party animal, who, in one of the film’s best
scenes, doesn’t find out exactly where she spent the night until
reading of her antics in the paper over breakfast; and Jim Broadbent as
a perpetually drunken major, who may or may not owe Adam a large sum of
money.  The idle rich are an easy target for satire, and the film
makes the most of it.

The plot moves along swiftly enough (with the help of a spiffy jazz
soundtrack), which is probably for the best since the relatively
shallow characters would not withstand too much scrutiny.  The
pace is occasionally a bit episodic but a serious undercurrent is
almost always present despite the film’s farcical plot. The characters’
desperation and boredom become increasingly evident, and some survive
the party and the ensuring war more whole than others.  The
contemporary parallels are obvious and wisely not overemphasized.

“Bright Young Things” is the directorial debut of Stephen Fry (who
starred in the biopic “Wilde”), and he draws engaging performances from
the large cast. It is adapted from the novel “Vile Bodies,” by Evelyn
Waugh, and, while the dialogue, often lifted directly from the book, is
frequently witty, Waugh’s exquisite satiric, uproarious prose is
missed.  The film is a fun, light concoction that is a must-see
for Waugh fans and intriguing for everyone else.

*****

by Victoria Swisher
Living and Arts Editor

For all of you Swatties not into the traditional party scene available
at Paces and DU, Philly awaits you.  Ever been curious about Swing
dancing?  Get a free lesson at 8:00 p.m. at Blue Moon Dance Studio
(www.swingdance.org/ongoing.htm).  Want some live music? 
Check out Fooling April, Omnisoul, Jason Liebman and The Uprising, and
Jenn Stang at the Speakeasy Cafe (http://www.speakeasycaferocks.com/).

If you want to sit back and be entertained, this is your last weekend
to see Pig Iron Theater Company’s Hell Meets Henry Halfway, part of The
Fringe Festival (http://www.phillytheatreco.com/).  Looking for a
little history/culture?  Remember that Liberty Bell?  It’s in
downtown Philly, and there is a tour and even an evening light show to
accompany your visit to this historical site
(http://www.lightsofliberty.org/main.htm).

Philly has a little bit of something for everyone to enjoy.  There
is life outside the Swarthmore bubble – enjoy it!

*****

* Hurricane Ivan devastated areas along the Gulf Coast region on
Thursday. With powerful tornadoes, floods and 130-mile per hour winds,
the hurricane killed 20 people. President Bush declared a state of
emergency in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, with Florida expected
to be added to that list later last night. 400 troops from the National
Guard will be deployed to help with clean-up. After drenching the Gulf
Coast, the storm continued into Georgia and Louisiana, knocking out
power as far north as Atlanta.

* In a significant policy shift, Republican Congressmen said on
Thursday that they are seeking to overhaul the way the federal
government distributes antiterrorism aid. The new system of aid would
give more money to New York City and other localities considered at a
higher risk for attack. The shift comes after increasing criticism from
members of the 9/11 commission, who charged that Congress had been
allocating anti-terrorism money for their own districts and not
spending it on the most vulnerable areas.

* Two Americans and one Briton were seized by kidnappers from their
home in Baghdad early Thursday. The fact that there was no guard
stationed at their home, which is usually guarded around the clock,
suggests that the attack was well planned. The increasing boldness of
such kidnappings has worried many observers.

*****

Friday:

Radical Cheerleaders
Parrish Beach, 12:30 p.m.

Jazz in the Afternoon with Galen Razzaq
Sharples, 12:00 p.m.

Small Craft Warnings meeting/get together
Women’s Resource Center, 7:00 p.m.

Movie: Mean Girls
LPAC Cinema, 7:30 & 10:00 p.m.

Last Exile, episodes 1-4
Kohlberg 228, 8:00 p.m.

Rose Tattoo Cafe
Paces, 9:00 p.m.

Saturday:

Walk and Run against Bush
Sponsored by the Bryn Mawr College Democrats
Ardmore, 10:30 a.m.

Throw Crumbs in the Crum for Lashlich
Parrish Steps, 4:00 p.m.

Movie: Mean Girls
LPAC Cinema, 7:30 & 10:00 p.m.

Come Out and Play House Party
Paces, 10:00 p.m.

DU Back to School “Professors and Schoolgirls”
Delta Upsilon, 10:00 p.m.

Sunday:

Terpsichore Exposition
Troy Dance Studio, 6:30 p.m.

WSRN Big meeting
Upper Tarble, 9:00 p.m.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

Today:
There are no contests scheduled for today.

Tomorrow:
Men’s Frisbee at Sectionals
Women’s Frisbee at Sectionals (Willowdale Steeplechase)
Field Hockey at Seven Sisters Championship vs. Vassar, TBA
Volleyball hosts Garnet Classic vs. Cabrini, 9:00 a.m.
Men’s Soccer at Dickinson, 12:00 p.m.
Women’s Soccer at Franklin and Marshall, 12:00 p.m.
Volleyball hosts Garnet Classic vs. Kean, 1:00 p.m.
Volleyball hosts Garnet Classic vs. TBA, 3:00 p.m
Volleyball hosts Garnet Classic Finals, 5:00 p.m.

Sunday:
Men’s Frisbee at Sectionals
Women’s Frisbee at Sectionals (Willowdale Steeplechase)
Field Hockey at Seven Sisters Championship

Note: The results of yesterday’s field hockey game were unavailable at
time of publication.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY
“At best most college presidents are running something that is
somewhere between a faltering corporation and a hotel.”
–Leon Botstein

*****

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